Chapter 23: Alexis

Chapter 23: Alexis

“…were ferocious,” Will said. At once, his eyes lit up with fervor, and he gestured grandly in the air, describing that ferocity with more than words.

I could not get enough of this wine. Never in my life had I ever tasted something so delicious. It made the inside of my mouth melt in an explosion of rich flavor. After all the time it had spent aging in the ship, it had become more potent than any liquor I had tried. Three glasses, and I was already quite tipsy.

“Ferocious?” I asked, my voice slurring slightly as I struggled to stay within the limits of sobriety. I could not help myself as I poured another glass of wine. The scenery of the evening sea, the company of my mate, and the delectable taste of the vintage wine were nothing short of heavenly. The cool air blew in my face as I relaxed my back against the comfortable chair. I was already feeling full, having eaten half the cured meats on the charcuterie board along with the cheese.

“Ah, yes,” Will continued. “The villagers told tales about the werewolves running across the countryside. But we were not dangerous. There’s a marked difference between ferocity and being dangerous. Aye, we would hunt. We’d mark our prey and give it a chase through the forests. Don’t fret. We did not hunt humans. We only preyed upon animals that made us stretch our limbs. Deer, rabbits, and other fast creatures that raced through the woods. We also stuck close to each other. There were many packs in Germany, and sometimes they would clash with each other. But it was all in good fun. As a species, we werewolves were very united in our creed.”

“Will, I think I’m drunk,” I said, barely able to hold on to his words. The world was swimming in front of my eyes. “How strong was that wine anyway?”

“Strong enough to make me drunk as well,” Will said. “May we retire to the bedroom below deck? Get some rest? I have something awesome planned for tomorrow.”

“We can go below deck, but I don’t think there’s going to be much sleeping,” I said, surprising myself at my boldness. Being out here was so freeing. It was just me, him, the moon, and the ocean. The slight sound of the gentle sea and the occasional creaking of the ship’s wood created the perfect atmosphere. I didn’t want to go below deck just yet. The dim yellow bulbs shone in the night sky, accompanied by the moon, and created a warm halo of light around our ship. The ocean underneath the ship was clear, allowing me to see the reefs, corals, and fish swimming in the shallow water.

“Look, Alexis, the stars,” Will said, pointing upwards. It did not occur to me that we were so far away from the city and all its pollution that the night sky was completely unadulterated. As I lifted my head up, I saw the constellations in all their glory. They shone brightly across the sky, like gems studded in the ceiling of the world. In the shimmering starlight, I felt like a character in a fantasy setting.

By now, the drunkenness was taking a deep hold of my senses, lulling me into a sense of warmth and drowsiness. I struggled to keep my eyes open, but it was a futile attempt. Wordlessly, I went to Will and hugged him. He enveloped me in his muscular arms.

We slunk to the deck, lying in each other’s arms, looking at the stars, the moon, and the glimmering sea. And this is how I fell asleep.

I did not know when Will took me downstairs and tucked me in the bed. I did not even know for how long I slept. All I knew was that when I woke up, Will was lying beside me, fast asleep, and the morning sun was shining through the windows. Surprisingly, my head wasn’t heavy, and there were no signs of a hangover, even though Will and I had emptied a bottle of very strong wine.

From where I lay, I eyed a bag of coffee on the kitchenette counter across the room. My body yearned for some coffee. It took me a few seconds to realize, once the bed began bobbing just a little, that I was on a boat.

I looked at my mate lovingly and watched him sleep soundly. He snored a few times, which I found extremely adorable. For the life of me, I’d never understood why some people found their partner’s snoring irritating. For me, it was like a soothing sound that validated the fact that someone was in bed with me, sharing this space, sleeping soundly. Nothing could be more intimate.

The last time I was in this boat, there wasn’t a bed in here or a kitchenette, for that matter. The extent to which Will had renovated his boat was nothing short of impressive.

Not only was the stovetop functional, but there was a coffeemaker on the counter as well. I made some coffee in the coffeemaker and rummaged about in the cupboard to see what I could fix for some breakfast.

It was fifteen minutes later that Will woke up with a loud yawn. He shifted himself in the bed, then sat upright, looking at me dreamily. “Good morning, beautiful.”

“Good morning yourself. I must say, you’ve done the work on the boat. Color me impressed,” I said, pointing at the well-crafted kitchenette.

“How are you so up and about? I took you in my arms and tucked you in bed,” Will said, rubbing his eyes. He then got up from the bed and came over.

“I slept well,” I said, presenting the tray with the coffee, pancakes, and toast. “Did you sleep well?”

“Oh, like a baby,” Will said, gratefully taking one of the steaming coffee mugs. “Damn, this coffee is excellent.”

“Hey, you bought it,” I winked at him.

“Yeah, but you made it,” he winked back.

We stood by the counter for a couple of minutes, silently relishing the warmth of the coffee, enjoying the flavor of the pancakes, and indulging in the crunchy buttered toast. As far as breakfasts go, it was perfect.

“I’m having breakfast on a boat with my mate,” I said. “Never thought I’d say those words out loud.”

“And I am a free man after countless years, enjoying the best time of my life with my mate,” Will said. “When I was in that prison, I never thought that I’d taste freedom again. So that makes two of us. I never thought I’d say those words out loud either.”

“To us, the dreamers,” I said, clinking my coffee cup with his.

“I’ll drink to that.”

Once our coffee was finished and breakfast had rejuvenated us enough to go back above deck and resume our recreation, I looked out from the railing in the morning light. It was a different sight entirely. I could see colorful coral reefs below. It was like standing over a multi-dimensional Avant Garde art piece. The more I stared at the sea, the clearer the reefs became, allowing me to make out the anemone idly swaying in the water, with clownfish coming out of it. Schools of tiny, colorful fish swam out from under the rocks and became part of a larger school. In the morning light, the water was clear blue, looking peaceful.

“How are we at the same spot?” I asked Will while still looking below.

“I anchored us to the reef. I didn’t want us to move away from such a great location,” Will said.

“Great location for what?” I asked.

Will broke into a good-natured smile. “I wanted us to do something adventurous. What could be more adventurous than scuba diving?”

Did he somehow know that scuba diving had been on my bucket list since I was a teenager? I hadn’t mentioned it to him. In fact, this had been such a secret wish of mine that I had never mentioned it to anyone.

“Will, how did you know?” I asked. I was a little scared to know the answer.

“How did I know that my mate harbors a secret love for scuba diving? In the same way, I know that you’re left-handed, but in school, they forced you to become right-handed, so now you’re ambidextrous. Just as I know that your favorite vacation spot in the world is Mount Fuji. It’s also how I know that you hate admitting that you love reading Stephen King novels because he’s gone mainstream, but you always read him back when his works were not enjoyed by everyone in the form of movies,” he said. The sincerity on his face made me feel something deep within my body. It was a movement that felt like a tectonic shift within my soul. As if my spiritual body was making room for his soul to reside within mine. A body sharing two souls.

“How?” I asked. I was never one to cry. It always felt like a weakness to exhibit one’s emotions in the form of tears, especially in a moment of weakness. But these were not tears of weakness. These were tears of joy that suddenly cascaded down my face. This was a relief. Someone knew the real me. My mate knew who I really was.

“We are bonded, Alexis. We have been since we met the first time. It’s how we’ve found our way back to each other. What do you think gave you the idea that I’d love seeing my old ship? How did you perceive that taking me out to the skate rink with some of the strangest snacks that 7-Eleven offered would make me jubilant? There’s a deeper reason for why you knew that taking me to that abandoned manor and setting it ablaze would help me resolve my emotional issues. It’s because we are fated to be each other’s mates. And with that territory comes unconditional love, mutual understanding, and communication that transcends words and gestures. That’s how I know that you love scuba diving. And it is because of that same bond that I know deep within my bones that I love you,” Will spoke in the gentlest voice as he approached me. I quivered with emotion as he came close to me. Even though he was just inches away from me, I yearned for him.

I coiled my arms around his neck as I reached up to kiss him. I did not want to let him go. A profound sensation had taken hold of me. Will lifted me in his arms, holding my entire body and putting it on the railing as he kissed me. My legs closed around his waist as our lips met, as our breaths became one.

I puckered my lips and sucked on his tongue. He bit on my lower lip. I moaned ecstatically as he bit slowly, my nails digging into the skin of his back. Will touched my breasts, gently caressing them, squeezing them lightly as he kissed the nape of my neck. Then his face was upon my chest, sucking, kissing, licking.

All these clothes I was wearing felt a little too much all of a sudden. I took off my shirt and threw it on the deck. My bra, pants, and panties were gone just as quickly. Will stood in front of me, stark naked in the light of the glaring sun, his erection jutting out like an exclamation mark.

Our naked bodies merged on the deck’s floor, our hands finding purchase on each other’s shoulders, waist, buttocks, and thighs. The more I touched him, the more ravenous I felt. I stared at the glistening tip of his cock and wanted nothing more than to take it in my mouth.

I pushed Will onto the floor, letting him lie down completely, as I jerked his dick with my hand. The more I stroked, the harder it got. Suddenly, pre-cum came out of the tip of his penis. I reached down to lick it, then promptly took his entire tip in my mouth, letting it bulge against my cheek as I sucked and licked his shaft. His penis throbbed in my mouth as I pleasured it. I wanted to taste him more than I had already tasted him. I wanted him to cum in my mouth. I sucked harder and then took his whole cock in my mouth till I could feel it bulging against my throat. I could feel my spit slobbering it up as I blew him.

I was so focused on what I was doing that I didn’t notice that my pussy had become wet all of a sudden. Will moaned louder and louder, uninhibited by the freedom and seclusion of the open sea. He writhed as I pleasured him, his thighs twitched, and the muscles on his pelvis became taut.

I took his cock out of my mouth for a breather. Once I had my breath back, I put the tip back in my mouth and began licking the under the shaft. His penis started twitching uncontrollably as I quickened my pace.

Suddenly, warm liquid gushed into my throat as Will came into my mouth. I loved the sweet, salty, and sticky sensation that dripped down my throat. My body was charged with arousal, yearning for his touch.

As if he had telepathically inferred it, Will got up, his semi-hard dick slinging between his thighs, and laid me down in front of him, parting my legs open. I closed my eyes in anticipation of what was to come.

He was slow at first, gently rubbing his fingers on my clit, then swapping his fingers for his tongue. Given how aroused I already was, I came within seconds as his warm mouth sucked and licked its way past my wetness and into my pussy. I throbbed with pleasure and moaned while I orgasmed with Will’s head between my thighs.

Will grabbed my thighs forcefully and pulled me closer to his mouth, picking up the pace. Not gentle anymore now, but just forceful enough that I found it sexy. He cradled my clit on the tip of his tongue and sucked on it with his lips, releasing a second pent-up orgasm in my body. This time, my moan was so loud it was practically a scream. A few seagulls cawed in response.

With my naked, sweaty, and pulsating body now lying sated in the sun, Will climbed on top of me and kissed me on my mouth, both of us tasting a little bit of ourselves in each other’s mouths. My tongue clashed with his, soaking in the wetness and the flavor his mouth had to offer. Will held my back in his hands as he ground against my thighs. I could feel him getting hard again. I could feel myself on the brink of another orgasm.

Will cushioned his body on my breasts as he entered me. My body welcomed his hard, throbbing, long dick. I thrust my hips up to take more of him inside me. As he fucked me hard, I bit on his neck and dug my nails into his skin wherever I could get my hands on. Will stared intently into my eyes as our bodies moved in perfect rhythm.

And it was while we both stared into each other’s eyes that we came together.

Whatever happened afterward was merely an epilogue to the wonderful chapter that this lovemaking had been. Nothing came close to the feeling of being with my mate in such a carnal and primal manner. Not the mid-noon barbeque that we enjoyed. Not the second bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape that we emptied in the evening.

Scuba diving came a second close. Just before sunset, Will procured two scuba suits from under the deck. We dove underwater and swam around each other as we admired the underwater sights that the reef had to offer. But by far, the highlight of that cruise was that hot and heavy lovemaking session that we enjoyed on the sea.

For me, the vacation ended on a high note when we came across sea turtles swimming in a neat formation around the reef. We followed them as we swam, and they led us to a bioluminescent cave lit with jellyfish and strange plants that looked like they were out of a James Cameron movie.

It was a moment of pure serenity. Will and I hung suspended in the deep blue water, lit up by the light of the underwater flora, admiring the fish, the crabs, the turtles, and one particularly docile shark as we swam side by side, hand in hand.

Nothing could top that.

Well, at least I thought nothing could.

On our way back, Will taught me how to steer the ship and how to accelerate it. Under his guidance, I captained the ship and parked it in the harbor, feeling the confidence and satisfaction of commandeering a naval vehicle for the first time in my life.

At the end of our cruise, I had never felt closer to Will than I did now.